1. Technical Field of Invention
This invention relates to networks exchanging information between providers and subscribers and more particularly to such a network for content delivery, manipulating, testing, scoring, and storing for organizational competency compliance management.
2. Background of the Invention
Although most people strive to do their best performance for their job day in and day out institutions and organizations have found over the years that there must be continuous monitoring and checking of individuals within the institutions and organizations for day to day knowledge and performance. Additionally in the case of health care; a very complicated area, most consumers cannot tell what level of quality of care they are receiving until after the fact. In response to the need of knowing how well informed employees of institutions and organizations are, if and how current employees are in their techniques accreditation agencies have been established to promulgate requirements that will measure, qualify, and provide a basis for recognition of organizations and institutions for meeting industry standards. These requirements are both basic and dynamic as employees must be kept current in skills to assure optimal performance at an affordable price. Other fields as varied as law, automotive, and even auto racing have similar requirements to assure safe and consistent performance. The term “continuing education” is a typically used term to describe how employees can be kept current in an organization or institution. Also the term “life long learning” describes a life style many professionals feel is the proper way to serve their profession. Many methods and system have been proposed and are working within organizations and institutions at present. Classically courses were held within an organization or institution and supplemented with local learning institutions. The costs of conducting such classes and tuition fees have evolved to on line content delivery with standardized courses. In U.S. Pat. No. 5,867,821 Ballantyne et al. dtd. Feb. 2, 1999 disclose a “Method and apparatus for electronically accessing and distributing personal health care information and services in hospitals and homes”. In this disclosure a method and apparatus is used for the distribution and administration of medical services, entertainment services, electronic medical records, educational information, etc. to a patient's individual electronic patient care station (PCS) interconnected to a master library (ML) which stores data in digital compressed format, through a local medical information network. The patient/medical personnel interact with this medical information network through the unique PCS and receives the requested service or data from the master library. The data is then displayed either on the associated television set or video monitor or through wireless/IR communications to a peripheral personal data assistant (pen based computer technology) the data for text, audio, and video information is all compressed digitally to facilitate distribution and only decompressed at the final stage before viewing/interaction. While Ballantyne et al. may have a system for remotely accessing and distributing health care records the system as described will not be suitable for educational compliance management (no testing/retention capability for certification compliance) and modifications to the '821 patent to implement such functionality would require modifications to the programming structure and functionality removing the functionality that was claimed. Due to the extensive nature of modifications and lack of intention in the specification there would be no motivation to design such extensions. In U.S. Pat. No. 6,546,230 dtd. Apr. 8, 2003 Allison discloses a “Method and apparatus for skills assessment and online training”. In this disclosure a technique is disclosed for testing and training health care professionals. Competency tests are stored on machine readable media and transmitted via network connections to remote provider systems, such as workstations or diagnostic systems. A health care professional can take a competency test on a particular topic and input his/her responses at the remote provider system. The health care professional's responses are evaluated, and an assessment of his/her skills displayed at the provider system. The assessment particularly points out those areas, if any, where the health care professional's knowledge is deficient. If the health care professional has any areas which need improvement, a list of relevant courses is also displayed at the provider system. The health care professional may then select a desired course from the user interface. The machine readable media maintains a record of the health care professional's assessment as well as a list of completed courses. This information may then be provided to a licensing entity for credit. While Allison has disclosed a system for testing and training health care professionals with evaluation and feedback this represents only a small portion of the requirements of a comprehensive educational compliance management system for organizations and institutions. The additional functions necessary for a seamless comprehensive implementation of an educational compliance management system requires additional breath (local content, surveys, and reporting) additionally, adaptation by sponsoring institutions or organizations with comprehensive-role based summary reporting, update alerts, and dynamic assessment adaptability. Without these functions users of the '230 patent system will be forced to pre-configure material and translate output information and scores into a reporting engine. The intent to combine these functions into the '230 would require a complete format and program restructure and rewrite. In U.S. Pat. No. 6,988,138 Alcorn et al disclose an “Internet-based education support system and methods”. This disclosure discusses a system and methods for implementing education online by providing institutions with the means for allowing the creation of courses to be taken by students online, the courses including assignments, announcements, course materials, chat and whiteboard facilities, and the like, all of which are available to the students over a network such as the Internet as described by Alcom et al. include various levels of functionality that are provided through a three-tiered licensing program that suits the needs of the institution offering the program. A general purpose system and method for content delivery, adaptation, and testing is described by Alcom et al. with no realistic provisions for system management and certification compliance. Review of the drawings and discussions contained in the '138 patent indicate that implementing capabilities for system management, role based reporting, update alerts, and certification compliance would require a new programming structure and data field reconstruction which would modify the intent of the disclosed system beyond its intended purpose as there was no such intent indicated in the disclosure. Many of the systems in discussion are content deliverers that have adopted network testing. While this is not prohibited by law a single supplier to an organization or institution is seldom the best value in both content and delivery. In USPTO publication #20050086296 Chi et al. disclose a “Content system and associated methods”. In this disclosure a method and system are disclosed for providing data files to a community of users. The data files relate to a plurality of courses. Each user is associated with one or more of the courses. The system includes client devices operated by the users and a server system in communication with the client devices over a network. The server system provides to the client devices access to data files relating to courses with which the users are associated. The server system also includes a content system for storing content items from users. The content items in the content system are selectable by users for inclusion in one or more of the plurality of data files. While Chi et al. may be able to deliver content with testing these are only the rudimentary functions of a comprehensive educational compliance management system and such functionality (requirements, compliance, licensing, certifications, surveys, role based reporting, and skills) are not an intention or purpose of the '296 publication. Further the general nature of the '296 publication would preclude combining the functions (resource intensive and no common modules) or a comprehensive educational compliance management system for institutions or organizations.
While many excellent methods and systems have been implemented for content delivery and testing there remains a need for complete and comprehensive continuing education competency and compliance management system. Such a system would provide ease of use to an institution or organization in content delivery, source flexibility, testing, tracking, and reporting that is compliant to the appropriate accreditation agencies and remain content independent to assure the institution or organization the best value.